The Arcane Emperor

Chapter 66 The Second Trial

A misty breath left Rainer's mouth as he stared at his surroundings. Only sheer will kept him floating as he hastily flushed his body with [Arcane Invigoration]. He had pushed the spell a bit too far.

Rainer straightened out his overcoat as he was reminded at Tiamat's lack of presence.

Given the chill he felt, even under the effects of [Arcane Invigoration], his resistances, and the general feeling of numbing, he made a proper decision in leaving her behind. He headed higher in the air; the Draconic Magic named [Eldritch Flight] was efficient to the point where he ventured he may as well never walk again. That, and practicing it in [Sleep Learning] while multitasking had left him with level 10 of the tier 3 spell.

It was certainly far harder than any normal tier 3 spell to level. The 60 skill points gained and that fact it was considered a first time once more, showed it as such.

At this point, he barely needed to pay attention to keep it running. Though, he did feel for Tiamat. Were it not for his recent leveling of [Eldritch Draconic Mage] and the three skills he bought; he wouldn't have learned it before her. Even now she still struggled a bit, only maintaining a hover for a few seconds before she'd run out of Mana.

He knew her wings somehow helped the Magic from his [Arcane Sight], but beyond that knew little else of how the spell was supposed to work for her. The prospect of this being a part of some sort of racial memory interested him beyond anything else. He couldn't wait until she grew up enough to speak.

Unlike the skills of [Voidwalker], which seemed not to be meant for an ordinary person, the [Eldritch Draconic Mage] class clearly existed for a Mage. Though, not necessarily for a human one.

[Blood Sensing lvl 3/10: A means to closer sense the magical power in one's blood.]

[Eldritch Flow lvl 7/10: The ability to alter the type of magic flowing in one's blood into that of Eldritch energies.]

He'd have to see about either creating or taking a source of Miasma with him, the skill itself required only a small touch of Miasma. It was also part of his reasoning that this wasn't a class meant for a human mage. While nowhere near as bad as [Miasmic Conversion] this skill left him needing to use [Arcane Invigoration] as well.

Perhaps an enchanted item capable of producing Miasma, though he guessed one too powerful or that didn't have a recharge time would not be possible even with his huge budget. Rainer had many new ideas and restrictions. Most were thought of when Amer not only helped him with it but shared his vast knowledge of all the items he had known people to receive.

[Eldritch Flow] made it far too easy to cast Draconic Magic he learned from Tiamat compared to how he did it originally.

[Draconic Vibrations: lvl 1/10: Allows the user to magically mimic the sounds of a Dragon's Roar.]

The final advantage being the unlocked attribute. One that promised far stronger body enchanting in the future as well. Kara would like that.

[Blood Capacity: Increases the amount of power one's blood can hold and absorb.]

Draconic Runes were expressed through intent and the flowing Magic in one's blood, even if Mana powered the spells. But with greater power in his blood, it responded far easier to this intent.

Sitting cross-legged, far above the clouds that were just now being affected by a growing [Absolute Frost], Rainer did his best to keep his mind off just what was happening with Luna. The combined time dilation already present in a Trial with the Abyssal Plane left the Familiar Bond at practically a standstill.

So, he did what would benefit him most right now; getting the final level for [Void Seer] and [Void Grasp]. The prospect of advancing to the 2nd Tier and still not being able to make it home honestly frightened him.

Both had paused at level 9 with no significant progress for nearly two weeks. [Void Mastery] had reached level 2 along with them, though Rainer still found himself quickly overloaded by the sensory information if used for more than a second or two.

Rainer didn't have a clue where to take [Void Seer]. The view was clearer, the sound was as if he was there, the cost, all but nonexistent, even more so than it originally was. He lacked any idea of what do to next. In the past, he never used [Void Seer] long enough to notice it taxing his mind.

[Void Grasp] existed in a similar position. He had used [Void Call] on certain body parts and tried to resist himself and was successful when he didn't put his all into [Void Call]. He could even resist his own [Void-walking] causing a simple 10-foot walk to take more Mana than he had to push through.

But in the end, he lacked any idea of what that final level could represent. Pushing both [Void Seer] and [Void Grasp] in different ways eventually led to the stress in his head killing him too many times to count. But Rainer still reached no closer to the elusive level 10.

Waiting several more minutes for the Miasma to leave his body, Rainer then activated [Arcane Awakening] and stretched out [Void Detection]. He lowered himself as much as he could without being overwhelmed by the cold. Just barely, the tip of his detection could reach the temple. He activated [Void Seer] but still couldn't see past the outer walls.

As he tried to push his range further, he found himself slightly regretful. His choice was by far the safest option, and yet not only the possible Runic Language within may be unreachable but he could have lost a life-long ally like Jor shaped up to be.

It's true the current Magic Beast would be an all but mindless construction of the Trial like Jor used to be. Its thoughts solely centered on how to kill Trial takers. But Jor had a Soul. Whether or not that truly symbolized life, Rainer couldn't say, but he liked to think so. If anything, it made Luna feel better. Not that he'd care either way about how others would view her as being truly alive or not. So long as they kept their opinions to themselves, that is.

Rainer felt a slight tug on his mind as he suddenly realized Void Will expended rapidly. A frown marred his face just before he pushed even harder, his vision in [Void Seer] still tottering the edge of just not being able to see inside.

He desired to see. And he let that emotion surface as he pushed on the edge. A quick application of [Void Mastery] at that edge through [Void Seer] and all his Void Will left him. Just as a headache began, he found himself using [Void Seer] outside of the [Void Detection] range. With [Void Seer] outside its range, it was as if it tethered directly to his mind rather than [Void Detection].

Not even needing the [Void Mastery] that originally assisted in the act.

The euphoria lasted only for a moment as the cost for such a viewing, was most certainly not cheap.

He rubbed his temples as he futilely used [Arcane Invigoration]. It was good he had a recent message to distract him from the searing pain. [Void Seer] had leveled just as [Void Call] did.

[Void Seer has reached level 10]

[Experience Gained: XX]

[Void Seer has reached its maximum level. 5 skill points have been rewarded.]

[Void Seer has unlocked Void Sense lvl 1/10]

[Void Sense lvl 1/10: Reach out one's consciousness through the Void. An ability for one's mind to travel through the Void with naught but a thought.]

Having the first level of the skill Rainer understood what it did. To where [Void Mastery] granted him nearly complete ownership over a portion of the Void, [Void Sense] helped his mind navigate through the Void and make sense of it. Whereas [Void Detection] created a more interpretative understanding, [Void Sense] gave him a physical one.

He could tell that the skill shouldn't be particularly taxing, and it may serve him well in reducing the cost of [Void-walking], but his pounding headache left testing for another time.

That, and he was far more interested in seeing what the temple contained after his little peek. [Draconic Runic Language] covered the walls once more. And a written version of [Draconic Runic Language] went against everything Rainer understood.

The walls of the temple agreed with him. Nonsensical gibberish covered them, likely designed to confuse and cause pain to any Mage who looked at their surface too closely. Certainly, not as a primer for learning it.

But it was written down. And more importantly, Rainer had done what most Mages considered impossible; he learned a Runic Language entirely from the written word.

He knew it might have only been a result of his [Arcanist] class at the time, but he still needed to see. To fully check if the temple writings contained the answer he sought, for the teaching of many generations the path of Magic. The nonsensical nature of it, however, gave him comfort in that he made the right choice not to risk his life to read it.

And that he may have never leveled [Void Seer] otherwise.

With no sign of [Absolute Frost] stopping its outward motion, Rainer headed back up higher in the sky to fully recover before making an attempt to get closer than last time. He looked straight up at the moon bathed in a light purple. A representation of the night that came to the Abyssal Plane only once a month.

The whole concept of it actually being a plane was hard to wrap his mind around. He guessed he needed to visit the so-called edge at least once to believe it. He laughed a bit at himself, wondering if that made him the same as a flat-earther, though in an opposite scenario. Amer's expression when Rainer didn't seem to believe it, certainly cemented that thought.

A testing over the Familiar Bond combined with [Void Detection] left him utterly blocked. Far stronger than the block the World Tree had erected after Yulia's death.

But it left a smile on Rainer's face. It was a truly powerful block, that was undeniable. But in the end, the simple fact that the block existed, rather than Rainer simply being cut off from the outside world, meant it was beatable.

Rainer's worries over Kara's and Luna's Trials might just have a new solution.

Two bright flames of Arcane-Fire burned in Rainer's hands. He soared downwards; his hands turned outwards to stave off the Frost. Getting as close as he was when he used [Void Seer] proved a challenge. But with a final burst of flame, he Void-walked into the temple.

Rainer grit his teeth as he immediately exploded outwards with Arcane-Fire, warming up the small temple room.

To his happiness, the enchanted walls bearing the [Draconic Runic Language] remained untouched. Having now the chance to read them, while also having the skill to do so, he carefully burned them into his memory.

[Arcane Sight] as well served to try and understand the enchantment that Rainer believed the key to display a Runic Language for a person to learn the skill.

He carefully observed the inner workings of the Magic, finding it the most complicated enchantment he'd ever seen. And perhaps even worse for his attempt at memorizing it, the entire building was like a singular enchantment, something he would have never noticed before he started working on the subject himself.

It's creator likely used an unbelievable amount of Mana to enchant such a thing. Assuming the Trial creator even used Mana.

And so he walked throughout the temple looking at as much of the enchantment as he could. Part of him searched for the now frozen Magic Beast.

The timer ticked down as Rainer finally found the frozen body of the Magic Beast. It was an entirely clear blue magical Serpent like the past Jor, but different from the snake-like familiar, several fins covered its side and with a face more akin to an eel.

[Soul Detection] revealed nothing there.

He paused at the dead body. Information from Earth reminded him of drowning cases where even long after they should have been permanently dead, the water was cold enough to delay that until rescue. Having nothing to lose, he put the aquatic looking serpent into his Spatial Ring.

His thoughts of the serpent still being alive were gone now, with how it entered his ring, but at least he had a chance to improve his [Magic Beast Anatomy]. The possibilities to help Jor in the future were welcome.

[00:00:02]

[00:00:01]

And with a fluctuation of Space, Rainer vanished from a world of water made solid.

Rainer's body tensed as he activated [Arcane Awakening] to its maximum. A Rune flared across his chest as his entire existence surged with speed.

He cycled through every detection skill he knew and used as strong of an [Arcane Sight] as he could manage.

A tense pregnant second passed before Rainer let out a deep sigh. As far as his every ability could tell, he was alone.

Now taking in his surroundings, he found himself in a clearing with dead trees and a thick mist. Spinning around, his eyes met with a far different sight.

No different than his Trial last time it seemed, he was on a detached piece of land, floating endlessly in some sort of empty space. He walked close to the edge of the island, and peered over, into the dark abyss below.

"Are they always going to be like this?" Rainer wondered at the similarity to his [Archon] trial. Before his thoughts shifted to the scenery of this particular island, that at the very least, was larger than the range of [Void Detection].

"Does someone or something know of my fear of being lost in a forest?"

He had mentioned it to Kara, back in the labyrinth level of the Wyvern filled dungeon. She, of course, being not only a Wolfkin but a Demon, couldn't comprehend how one got lost in a forest.

He turned back around to the clearing. The ground beneath him was a darker variety of dirt. Due to his recent paranoia involving the system, or whatever power ran the Trial, knowing one of his worse childhood experiences, he started thinking about a related problem he hadn't considered till now.

His knowledge of how items were granted. His mind was sent into a panic. Would he somehow be punished? Would the system rip not only the memories away but of all the time he spent knowing that the items were granted by choice?

He calmed himself down, realizing that thinking on this subject was pointless. He could only move forward and try to think of a way around it, hoping the Trial's memory removal was automated and it would only take those 5 minutes creating the item and looking at the prerequisites to 2nd Tier classes away. It certainly hadn't cared about the memories of him writing within [Sleep Learning].

And with a deep breath, he found a far more expected problem. No Miasma.

He had discussed his upcoming Trial with Amer, given that the man had already passed 3 of them, and they both agreed it was highly likely there would be no Miasma in the second part. The personalization meant the Trial would be helping him by creating an environment suitable for his species.

Glancing at the three available paths, Rainer spent some time trying to see if there was a hint of which he should take. He still used [Soul Detection] and [Void Detection] for his safety, considering that there may be a timed element involved. The last thing he needed was to find himself suddenly surrounded.

As he was now, Rainer was in no rush.

At least, until a hand grabbed him from beneath the ground.

With a flare of [Arcane Awakening: Might], Rainer ripped himself away from the grasping figure. He Void-walked several dozen feet away, his size shrinking back to normal once he got an understanding of the situation. With far more frugal use of his resources, he overcompensated the lack of Miasma.

As he watched from afar, a humanoid figure rose beneath the dirt. [Arcane Sight] showed a single source of power, lacking any Soul, any life. In the faceless figure's right shoulder lay an Orb of Mana.

A Golem? A Magical Construct?

Rainer wondered as he unleashed an [Arcane Bolt] at the figure, only to watch the [Arcane Bolt] not affect it in the slightest. The Arcane Magic only splashed off, with a portion of the energy adding to the growing core of Mana.

[Golem]

An annoying simple [Appraisal] later and Rainer was still left just as clueless. A hilt appeared in his hand as [Arcane Awakening: Surge] flared in speed. He rushed in front of the figure, his own Arcane magic joined by the hum of the [Arcane Blade].

He slashed the blade at the core of Mana, yet it was deflected against the surface. Only barely did Rainer dodge a swinging fist thrown his way.

Rainer gripped the hilt with both hands as he poured Arcane Power into it. Surge changed to Might, as his height and power soared. [Arcane Awakening] reached its maximum as Rainer leaped forward, striking down on the figure once more.

The blade of violet cleaved into the shoulder, and yet it did not finish off the Mana core. Rainer had no choice but to retreat as another blow was sent his way.

The golem paid no mind to the damage, nor did it pause to think over its options. It merely charged at Rainer the moment he jumped away, earthen fingers reaching out to grasp and maim.

Rainer was about to Void-walk away, when instead he simply pivoted and ran, letting his [Arcane Awakening: Might] fade.

It was a hard change for him. The Miasma filled Abyssal plane had gotten him used to having an all but infinite source of Mana. Now no longer in that position and all but assured this would not be the only battle he fought, he opted for a more mundane retreat.

The golem seemed only slightly faster and stronger than what was possible for a human. Combined with its magic resistance it would certainly be a strong threat to any Mage. But Rainer was not any mage, nor was this a test designed for any slinger of spells.

It was a test for a Void user. Not a Mage. And so Rainer spun around, no longer fleeing.

A tether of Arcane reached out from Rainer's hand as [Arcane Weaving] formed it into a chain. It wrapped around the figure, as the [Archon] poured enough power into it to resist the golem. The golem seemed to absorb the chain's power, yet the weave tightly wrapped with arcane resisted the absorption.

He leapt past it, just dodging under a swing of its hand, as the weave gripped tighter around the golem.

A few circles and lengths of chain later and Rainer had wrapped the figure up in its entirety. [Arcane Awakening: Might] flared as his newly 6 foot 2 void-changed height soared to a greater point under the effect of Might. He grabbed around the figure and violet chains and focused on the Mana source within.

Several moments passed as Rainer carefully used a small [Void Call], using as little Void Will as possible, and removed the Golem's source.

His hands nearly collided with another as the [Golem] crumbled to the dirt it once was.

Rainer glared at the loose dirt for a moment, wondering if it would reform the moment he turned away. But seeing his concerns unanswered, he returned to the task of which path to follow. Middle, left or right.

Deciding to go with the same logic he used before, Rainer chose left, and to stay on the left path if there were any more choices.

Left being a choice people picked less often than right, and staying on his left completely was a way of completing mazes slowly but surely. This may have been a mist covered forest, but he hoped to eventually visit every part of it in this manner if need be. He wouldn't mind a few moments longer to get his remaining [Voidwalker] skill, [Void Grasp] to level 10.

As Rainer gripped his arms around yet another chained [Golem], he decided a different route.

[Mana Drain] activated as Rainer did his best to place his hands around the core of the Golem, blocked only by the dirt that formed around the golem and the arcane chains that held it still.

The resistance was high. That and the distance from the actual source made it a test of wills. And given that a [Golem] lack a conscious will apart from a strong resistance to Magic, Rainer won eventually.

Rainer did stumble this time as the dirt he gripped fell to the ground. But several [Golem]s now appearing around him at once from the dead forest, sent him running.

He bothered no longer dealing with any [Golem] and instead fled as best he could, using [Void-walking] only when he truly had to, along with applications of [Eldritch Flight]. While still far more efficient than his [Arcane-Wind's Ascent], he soon learned that the Miasma that had been in the air, and that he added to his [Sleep Learning] space for various tests, played a huge role in its efficiency.

With the [Golem]s chasing him long behind him, Rainer soon reached a massive clearing.

As he readied himself to flee from an ever-larger horde of [Golem]s he instead saw a far more startling sight.

The ground shook beneath him, knocking him off his feet. The earth and dirt rose as if a volcanic eruption sought to escape from below.

And a golem of a size far surpassing most modern buildings of his own world, rose from beneath.

With its speed betraying its massive size, and Rainer's shock playing a role, he only barely managed to Void-walk away from a slamming fist.

Even [Void-walking] close to a hundred feet away he had only a moment to dodge a foot of the [Golem] who moved far too fast for its size.

He flew with all the speed he could muster, as the [Golem] easily caught up, destroying much of its allies in the carnage of a simple run. Only Rainer hovering above the ground kept him from being violently displaced as the very island shook from the giant's wrath.

A single glance of [Arcane Sight] showed him hundreds of Mana cores hidden across its ten-story tall body. And with another Void-walk, Rainer's Trial finally took on a dangerous edge as his Mana dipped ever lower from staying out of the giant's grasp. He would need a solution to this giant sooner or later. And being hours into the center of the island, he only hoped he could reach an edge soon enough.

His thoughts of panic turned to a solution. A spell long tucked away for its obscure purpose.

[Arcane-Lightning Channeling]

It was a limited spell he made shortly after meeting George, a 2nd Tier Lightning Mage of the Skyborne Guild.

The spell required its caster to be still. To use no other spell as he channeled it and drained Mana from his target. But even more so, the cost of it was likely to outpace any Mana it drained. At least, during Rainer's personal tests. He had no idea how it would work on the Giant being that held hundreds of moderately size cores of Mana

Yet Rainer saw little else in his arsenal to defeat the giant after his head. It was either hundreds of uses of [Void Call], something he most certainly could not do, or chance it with this spell.

Rainer ventured running away with [Void-walking] until he once more had to dodge a smaller golem growing from the ground. The only thing running away would result in is facing the huge golem alongside numerous smaller ones.

Nearly out of breath, Rainer stopped short and flared [Arcane Awakening] to its maximum. He spared the nearby smaller golem only a glance as a [Void Call] ripped away its source of energy, eliciting a minor headache at his depleted Void Will.

Arcane-Lightning crackled between his outstretched hands. He landed and his feet dug into the ground as magic flurried around him, the power of the lightning striking the ground, not fully contained in his hands.

The giant came in range; it's speed as impressive as before. And with all the energy he could manipulate, Rainer struck out against the monstrosity of rock and dirt.

The violet lightning struck without preamble and nearly sent Rainer backward as the Mana from the Golem slammed into him, far too much of it to easily dissipate. The golem was shocked still, the Arcane-Lightning affecting the very nature of its construction.

Rainer grit his teeth as he tried to expel the excess Mana from him while pouring everything else in the channel of Arcane-Lightning now between him and his target. He felt his own Mana pool trying to explode.

In between every pulse, Rainer whispered under his breath. A whisper that resounded throughout the entire island of mist, costing him a sizable portion of his Mana that was filled soon after easily enough.

"Drain."

Rainer felt a small additional energy come along with the Mana, before it rolled off him, otherwise unnoticed. He refocused on his task, and whenever the giant looked to be regaining his movement, he repeated it.

"Drain."

The [Will of the Arcane] responded to his command. His newly bought skill of [Arcane Empowerment] bending the spell to his will.

The air around him grew heavy, the small rocks and dirt around him charged with power slowly lifted and floated in the air.

Minutes passed as the massive amount of Mana within the giant left. Rainer's fingertips survived only through the constant healing of [Arcane Invigoration]. Which had the side-effect of allowing his nerves to go numb only for the pain to suddenly jolt.

With a final pulse of Arcane-Lightning, and a surge of magic that expanded outwards, there was nothing left to drain.

And with the very last source of energy gone, the [Golem] was no more. A mountain of earth and dirt collapsed onto itself. A wave of force exploded outwards, prompting Rainer to Void-walk as far as he could.

And yet the moment he reappeared the wave of dirt slammed the breathless Rainer off his feet.

It took moments before the landslide of earth stilled.

No different than the very golems he just fought, a hand shot out from underneath dirt, a gasping breath following soon after.

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